18 WW2 bombs unearthed in Zamboanga City residential compound

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Zamboanga del Sur—Construction workers unearthed 18 units of vintage World War 2 bombs in a residential compound in Barangay Cabatangan, some six kilometers away from the populated center here.

Police Lieutenant Agnes Miro, spokesperson of the Zamboanga City Police Office (ZCPO), said the workers first dug up nine 76 mm vintage bombs inside the compound owned by Rodolfo Hernejardo Dua at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, June 26, prompting Dua to report it to the police.

Miro said the police immediately dispatched the city Explosive and Ordnance Division Canine Unit (CECU9) to validate the findings and secure the bombs.

Aside from the nine 76 mm dug up in the morning, nine more bombs were unearthed from the same spot at 4 p.m. on the same day, Miro said.

“These 76 mm are military hardware,” he said. “These are unexploded ordnance, highly explosive, commonly used in World War 2.”

Dua’s place is located beside the regional office of the Civil Service Commission (CSC) in the barangay. Miro said the CECU9 would properly dispose of the 18 bombs, following safety procedures.